Bentley Continental GT Speed (2007): first official pictures

By Ben Pulman

First Official Pictures

01 August 2007 07:45

Does Bentley never stop?

Apparently not, and with the might of the VW Group behind it, little can slow expansion at the Crewe firm. It's just announced that in the first half of 2007 it delivered 5600 cars - and this year should be the first time Bentley breaks into five-figure sales. Back in 2002 it made just 1000. Bentley isn’t resting on its laurels, today releasing details of its facelifted Continental GT, along with news of a higher-spec GT Speed model. CAR Online first scooped the changes back in 2006, and they’ll filter through onto the Flying Spur and GTC next year.

How can I spot the revised Continental GT?

The coupe gets a wider and lower air intake, with a more upright radiator grille, which is the most obvious change. This feeds the unique twin-turbocharged W12 engine which has a new crankcase, camshafts, catalysts and exhausts. Combine this with a new ECU and you get a cut from 410 to 396g/km. Still enough to scare Greenpeace silly, though. But there’s no change in output for the regular car, with 552bhp and 479lb ft. Ample, as they say. The baby Bentley has 405mm discs at the front – which Bentley claim are the largest on any production car – and 335mm discs at the back. Carbon discs are an option, at £10k, and save 20kg of unsprung mass. The standard Continental GT also gets a distinctive ‘B’ brake pedal (above).

By Ben Pulman